un/love
Arts & Crafts, 2019
9/10
The Canadian alt-folk sensations Reuben And The Dark return with their most forthright album to date, where their mesmerizing song craft hits a career high, complete with a dramatic and often cathartic delivery from Reuben Bollock and company.
“Rising” starts the album with soft acoustic guitars as soaring vocals enter the cautious and dreamy setting, and “Faultline” follows with gentle keys and breathy singing that abruptly shifts into beat friendly indie-rock and quite possibly their best chorus to date.
In the middle, the folky “Breathe” stays calm and agile with much attention to detail, while “Underground” relies on twinkling keys for the moving ballad. The title track then offers emotive and atmospheric sounds, with plenty of nods to the pop ideas of decades past.
Near the end, “Wisemen” adds vocal effects for the blurry, electro-pop standout, and “Dancer” ends the listen with backing female vocals on an Americana tinged exit that is soaked in warm beauty.
Often bare and intimate, there’s an immense amount of power in these soulful tracks that are as poetic as they are timeless. Certainly one of the most exciting outfits under the indie-folk umbrella, Reuben And The Dark just keep getting better with each record.
Travels well with: River Whyless- Kindness, A Rebel; Roo Panes- Paperweights